February 2011 Blog Posts (5)

Mark Twain once said “I have never let school interfere with my education.” and this is the motto of UnCollege, a new movement to redefine what and how we learn. The movement isspearheaded by nineteen year old Dale Stephens and its goal is to create a learning program where students will be ‘self-learners’. In other words, students will not go to classes or get grades (or a diploma for that matter). Instead they will formulate…

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Teaching technique – teach them how to learn part 2



When my students entered the classroom (the first day of classes) I told them,”welcome to biology class”. I quickly inform them that they will learn biology (Failure was not an option). I explained that the focus of the class would be how to learn. I explained that it would be as if I am teaching you how to drive a car. The car is biology. The car is not important-How to drive is important. I am going to teach you how to learn. I am… Continue

Imagine that you're a bright young individual who has just finished high school. You're eager to explore the next steps on your educational path. Yet, for a variety of reasons, all you see is one closed door after another in your quest for higher education. With no way to pursue your studies, you may slowly become trapped in the all-too-familiar cycle of poverty and repression.

This is a reality for millions of individuals around the world. Even though they have the motivation and…

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Like it or not we are constantly judged by our writing skills. Whether we are writing a term paper for a class or research report for our boss, the quality of our work will be determined in part by the quality of our writing.  This may not be fair, but there is something we can do about it.

Writing is important because it’s a communication tool. Imagine you had a great song on your MP3 player that you wanted to share with your friends, but every time you played it there was mainly…

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It is currently a frustrating and challenging time in education. It seems as if teachers and educators are speaking one language and having one set of outcomes for the students they teach, and politicians, the media, and parents are speaking another.

Because they are.

It is occurring because they are standing in different paradigms. We are in the midst of the biggest paradigm shift in the human existence and we all are experiencing issues that I suggest are normal to the…

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